War And Christian Ethics

"War and Christian Ethics looks to influential writers throughout history to determine the theoretical issues involved in shaping a Christian criticism of war. It brings together source materials from the most influential patristic, medieval, and modern writers dealing with the morality of war from a variety of perspectives."--BOOK JACKET.

The just war ethic emerges from an affirmative response to the basic question of whether people may sometimes permissibly intend to kill other people. In Politics, Justice, and War, Joseph E. Capizzi clarifies the meaning and coherence of the "just war" approach, to the use of force in the context of Christian ethics. By reconnecting the just war ethic to an Augustinian political approach, Capizzi illustrates that the just war ethic requires emphasis on the "right intention," or goal, of peace as ordered justice. With peace set as the goal of war, the various criteria of the just war ethic gain their intelligibility and help provide practical guidance to all levels of society regarding when to go to war and how to strive to contain it. So conceived, the ethic places stringent limits on noncombatant or "innocent" killing in war, helps make sense of contemporary technological and strategic challenges, and opens up space for a critical and constructive dialogue with international law.

"A Canon Press book." Includes bibliographical references and index.

This provocative and timely primer on the just war tradition connects just war to the concrete practices and challenges of the Christian life. Daniel Bell explains that the point is not simply to know the just war tradition but to live it even in the face of the tremendous difficulties associated with war. He shows how just war practice, if it is to be understood as a faithful form of Christian discipleship, must be rooted in and shaped by the fundamental convictions and confessions of the faith. The book includes a foreword by an Army chaplain who has served in Iraq and study questions for group use.

This book turns on the centrality of a real atonement for the Christian revelation of moral redemption and public regeneration. The grace of God in Christ's cross is not a forensic device, but the moral focus of the universe - if all center in the conscience, and morality is the nature of things. By a real atonement Forsyth means not ÒshownÓ but ÒdoneÓ on the cross, as the consummation of Christ's holy personality and its work. Forsyth does not aim here at expounding that atonement, but at working our some of its moral implications and results on the public and national side - a side on which a Christianity based only on Christ's teaching has been criticized as defective.

With issues of war and peace at the forefront of current events, an informed Christian response is needed. This timely volume answers 104 questions from a just-war perspective, offering thoughtful yet succinct answers. Ranging from the theoretical to the practical, the volume looks at how the just-war perspective relates to the philosopher, historian, statesman, theologian, combatant, and individual—with particular emphases on its historical development and application to contemporary geopolitical challenges. Forgoing ideological extremes, Charles and Demy give much attention to the biblical teaching on the subject as they provide moral guidance. A valuable resource for considering the ethical issues relating to war, Christians will find this book's user-friendly format a helpful starting point for discussion.

Robert G. Clouse presents four different viewpoints on the Christian's involvement in war: Herman A. Hoyt on biblical nonresistance, Myron S. Augsburger on Christian pacifism, Arthur F. Holmes on just war and Harold O. J. Brown on preventive war.